Improvement in straw-cutters



ZSheets-Sheet 1. C'. LARSEN & R. OLSEN.

STRAW-ACUTTER. No.188;5Z0. Patented March 20,1877.*

ZSheets She et2. C. LARSEN &-R. OLSEN.

A 'STRAW-CUTTER. No. 188,520. Patented March 20,1877.

I I f 132 7 6 22 Jam UNrrnn S'rA'rns Parana" ermon.

OHRISTEN LARSEN AND RASMUS o snN, 0F RACINE, Wisconsin.

IMPROVEMENT IN STRAW-CUTTERS.

Specification'forming part of Letters Patent No. 188,520, 'dated March20, 1877; application filed October 23, 1876.

'that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,which will enable others skilled in the art To which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the. accompanyingdrawings, which'form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure1 is a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a top plan. Fig. 3 is a detail viewof the crank. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the feeding mechanism, and Fig.5 is a perspective view of one of the feed-rolls detached.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

This invention relates to that class of machines which are used forcutting straw, cornstalks, 850., into feed for horses and cattle; and itconsists in the construction and. arrangement of parts, hereinafter morefully shown and specified.

In the drawings, A is the bed or table of the machine. Upon this isplaced the cutterbox B. G is a shaft placed parallel to box B, andhaving its hearings in the front plank of table A and in a cross-piece,b. Shaft O has at one end the fly-wheel D, provided with the knives orcutters d, adjustable by set screws a a, and with a handle or crank, E,by which it may be turned and the machine operated, while at the otherend it has a pinion, 0, engaging with another pinion, 6, upon a shaft,F, having its bearings in the two sides of table A. Shaft F (shown indetail in Fig. 3) consists of two pieces, f f, the latter of which hasthe crank G, by which the machine is usually operated. The shaft fterminates in a pivot, which fits in a corresponding recess in the shaftf, which latter terminates in a clutch,

H is a clutch-collar engaging with the clutch g, and sliding upon shaftsf j", which at the same time it serves to couple. It is prevented fromcoming out of position by a projection, it, upon shaft f, and a spring,I, coiled around shaft 7, forces it against shaft f, thus causing itsclutch to engage with that upon shaft f. Now, when the crank G is turnedin the right direction,.the entire shaft F is rotated, thus operatingshaft 0 and the flywheel; but as soon as the crank G, is let go of itsown weight will prevent it and the shaft f from rotating, while shafts fU, the flywheel, and the rest of the machinery will continue inoperation until stopped by friction.

The shaft F passes under the cutter-box, and terminates in a fork, J,one of the prongs of which has a set-screw, 7?. Between the prongsslides a bar, K, which, when the machine is in operation, is secured inposition by the set-screw t. To the bar K is pivoted a plate or casting,L, terminating in three prongs, l l V, the middle one of which, i, issplit, as shown at in, so as to slide upon the shaftM of the lowerfeed-roll. secured upon shaft M. This is operated by two pawls, n n,which are pivoted upon plate L, and operated by a spring, 0, securedonthe under side of plate L. The pawls a a may be thrown out of operationbyan eccentric lever, o, pivoted on the under side of plate L, as shown.

The operation of this part of our invention 7 is as follows: When themachine is operated a reciprocating motion is given to the plate L, thelength of the stroke being regulated by the adjustable sliding plate orbar K. At each forward or backward movement of plate L the ratchet-wheelN is operated by pawls n n, thus causing the lower feed-roll to rotateand feed the straw a certain space forward, the length of which isregulated, as before stated, by the adjustable bar K. This, of course,may be graded, in order to save time in adjusting the machine to outcertain lengths of feed. If, at any time during the operation of themachine, it becomes necessary or desirable to throw the feed-rolls outof gear, this can be done in a moment by simply raising the lever 0,thus throwing the pawls n n out of operation, and preventing theratchet-wheel N, and consequently also the feed-rolls, from operating,although the rest of the machinery may continue in operation untilstopped .by

friction.

P is a small ratchet-wheel, secured upon shaft M on top of plate L. p isa lever, having a pawl, 19, for operating wheel P. The

N is a ratchet-wheel,

object of this is, in case the feed-rolls should become choked andrefuse to rotatepr to feed the straw, &c., to enable them to be turnedin the reverse direction, so as to release the material caught betweenthem, when the machine may again be started.

The feed-rolls Q Q are of the construction clearly illustrated in Fig.60f the drawings. They consist of the shafts M M, upon which are securedalternately flat smooth and toothed the upper feed-roll are made elasticby. the use of springs placed upon rods that project downwardly underthe bed of the machine. in order to compensate for the varying bulk ofthe material fed into the machine.

The operation of our improved feed-cutter will be clearly understoodfrom the foregoing description, and needs no repetition. Its ad vantagesare also obvious, being the facility with which the feeding mechanismmaybe adjusted by bar K to cut straw, &c., of any length; the ease withwhich the feed-rolls may usually constructed. i our invention, 3W6 claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent be thrown out of gear-while themachineisin operation, and the constructions ot' the crank G, whichcauses itto stop rotating as soon as let go of, thus doing away with thedanger of being bruised by the crank, whichconstantly threatens theoperators of machines as now Having thus described of the UnitedStates-- 1. Ip a feed-cutting machine, the combination of the feed-rollsQ, ratchet-wheel N, plate L, having spring-pawls n a and. cam-lever o,

substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and specified. i

21 The feed-rolls herein described, consist ing of shafts M, havingalternate flat smooth and toothed disks q 'r, substantially as and forthe purpose hereinbefore set forth.

' In testimony that we claimtheforegoing. as

our own. we have hereto aflixed our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

OHRISTEN- LARsEN.

RASMUS OLSEN.

Witnesses:

' J OHN W. KNIGHT SIMEON WHITELEY.

